Smaww businesses are privatewy owned corporations, partnerships, or sowe proprietorships dat have fewer empwoyees and/or wess annuaw revenue dan a reguwar-sized business or corporation, uh-hah-hah-hah. Businesses are defined as "smaww" in terms of being abwe to appwy for government support and qwawify for preferentiaw tax powicy varies depending on de country and industry. Smaww businesses range from fifteen empwoyees under de AustrawianFair Work Act 2009, fifty empwoyees according to de definition used by de European Union, and fewer dan five dousand empwoyees, to qwawify for many U.S. Smaww Business Administration programs. Whiwe smaww businesses can awso be cwassified according to oder medods, such as annuaw revenues, shipments, sawes, assets, or by annuaw gross or net revenue or net profits, de number of empwoyees is one of de most widewy used measures.

Researchers and anawysts of smaww or owner-managed businesses generawwy behave as if nominaw organizationaw forms (e.g., partnership, sowe-trader, or corporation), and de conseqwent wegaw and accounting boundaries of owner-managed firms are consistentwy meaningfuw. However, owner-managers often do not dewineate deir behavior to accord wif de impwied separation between deir personaw and business interests. Lenders awso often contract around organizationaw (corporate) boundaries by seeking personaw guarantees or accepting privatewy hewd assets as cowwateraw.[1] Because of dis behavior, researchers and anawysts may wish to be cautious in de way dey assess de organizationaw types and impwied boundaries in contexts rewating to owner-managed firms. These incwude anawyses dat use traditionaw accounting discwosures, and studies dat view de firm as defined by some formaw organizationaw structure.

Portici di Sottoripa, Genova, Itawy Gawweries tend to form cwusters of smaww business owners over time.

The term "entrepreneur" is often confwated wif de term "smaww business" or used interchangeabwy wif dis term. Whiwe most entrepreneuriaw ventures start out as a smaww business, not aww smaww businesses are entrepreneuriaw in de strict sense of de term. Many smaww businesses are sowe proprietor operations consisting sowewy of de owner, or dey have a smaww number of empwoyees, and many of dese smaww businesses offer an existing product, process or service, and dey do not aim at growf. In contrast, entrepreneuriaw ventures offer an innovative product, process or service, and de entrepreneur typicawwy aims to scawe up de company by adding empwoyees, seeking internationaw sawes, and so on, a process which is financed by venture capitaw and angew investments. Successfuw entrepreneurs have de abiwity to wead a business in a positive direction by proper pwanning, to adapt to changing environments and understand deir own strengds and weakness.[2] Spectacuwar success stories stem from smaww businesses dat expanded in growf. Exampwes wouwd be Microsoft, Genentech, and Federaw Express which aww embody de sense of new venture creation on smaww business.[3]

The wegaw definition of "smaww business" varies by country and by industry. In addition to number of empwoyees, medods used to cwassify smaww companies incwude annuaw sawes (turnover), vawue of assets and net profit (bawance sheet), awone or as a combination of factors.

In de United States, de Smaww Business Administration estabwishes smaww business size standards on an industry-by-industry basis, but generawwy specifies a smaww business as having fewer dan five hundred empwoyees for manufacturing businesses and wess dan $7.5 miwwion in annuaw receipts for most non manufacturing businesses.[4][5] The definition can vary by circumstance—for exampwe, a smaww business having fewer dan twenty-five fuww-time eqwivawent empwoyees wif average annuaw wages bewow $50,000 qwawifies for a tax credit under de heawf care reform biww Patient Protection and Affordabwe Care Act.[6] By comparison, a medium-sized business or mid-sized business has fewer dan five hundred empwoyees in de US.

The European Union generawwy defines a smaww business as one dat has fewer dan fifty empwoyees and eider turnover or bawance sheet wess dan €10 m.[7] but de European Commission is undertaking a review of dis definition, uh-hah-hah-hah.[8] By comparison, a medium-sized business has fewer dan 250 empwoyees and eider turnover wess dan €50 m. or bawance sheet wess dan €43 m.[7]

In Austrawia, a smaww business is defined by de Fair Work Act 2009 as one wif fewer dan fifteen empwoyees. By comparison, a medium-sized business or mid-sized business has fewer dan two hundred empwoyees.

In Souf Africa, de Nationaw Smaww Business Amendment Act (Act 26 of 2003) defines businesses in a variety of ways using five categories previouswy estabwished by de Nationaw Smaww Business Act (Act 102 of 1996), namewy, standard industriaw sector and subsector cwassification, size of cwass, eqwivawent of paid empwoyees, turnover and asset vawue excwuding fixed property.[9]

Smaww businesses are usuawwy not dominant in deir fiewd of operation, uh-hah-hah-hah.[10]

The tabwe bewow serves as a usefuw guide to business size nomencwature.

Business size definitions (by number of empwoyees)

AUS

US

CAN

EU

Minute/Micro

1-2

1-6

1-4

<10

Smaww

<15

<250

1-99

<50

Medium

<200

<500

100-499

<250

Large

<500

<1000

>500

<1000

Enterprise

>500

>1000

N/A

>1000

Most cewws refwect sizes not defined in wegiswation

Some definitions are muwti-parameter, e.g., by industry, revenue or market share

In 2016 a surprising demographic of smaww business owners was pubwished. The study showed dat de median American smaww business owners were above de age of 50. The ages were distributed as: 51% over 50 years owd, 33% between de ages 35-49, and 16% being under de age of 35. As for sex: 55% were owned by mawes, 36% by femawes, and 9% being eqwaw ownership of bof mawes and femawes. As for race: 72% were white/Caucasian, 13.5% were Latinos, 6.3% were African American, 6.2% were Asian, and 2% as oder. As for educationaw background: 39% had obtained a bachewor's degree or higher, 33% had some cowwege background, and 28% received at weast a high schoow dipwoma.[11]

The United States census data for de years 2014 and 2015 shows de women's ownership share of smaww businesses by firm size. The data expwains percentages owned by women awong wif de number of empwoyees incwuding de owner. The data shows dat about 22% of de businesses owned by women have between 100-500 empwoyees, 28% between 20-99 empwoyees, 32% between 5-19 empwoyees, 41% between 2-4 empwoyees and about 51% have 1 empwoyee. This shows dat de majority of women dat own businesses are sewf empwoyed and run de business by demsewves.[11]

Franchising is a way for smaww business owners to benefit from de economies of scawe of de big corporation (franchiser). McDonawd's and Subway are exampwes of a franchise. The smaww business owner can weverage a strong brand name and purchasing power of de warger company whiwe keeping deir own investment affordabwe. However, some franchisees concwude dat dey suffer de "worst of bof worwds" feewing dey are too restricted by corporate mandates and wack true independence. It is an assumption dat smaww business are just franchisees, but de truf is many franchisers are awso smaww businesses, Awdough considered to be a successfuw way of doing business, witerature has proved dat dere is a high faiwure rate in franchising as weww, especiawwy in UK, where research indicates dat out of 1658 franchising companies operating in 1984, onwy 601 remained in 1998, a mere 36%.[12]

A retaiwers' cooperative is a type of cooperative which empwoys economies of scawe on behawf of its retaiwer members. Retaiwers' cooperatives use deir purchasing power to acqwire discounts from manufacturers and often share marketing expenses. They are often recognized as "wocaw groups" because dey own deir own stores widin de community.[13]It is common for wocawwy owned grocery stores, hardware stores, and pharmacies to participate in retaiwers' cooperatives. Ace Hardware, True Vawue, and NAPA are exampwes of a retaiwers' cooperative. Retaiw cooperatives awso awwow consumers to suppwy deir own earnings and gain bargaining power outside of de business sector.[13] Retaiw cooperatives mainwy reside widin smaww communities where wocaw businesses are often shut down, uh-hah-hah-hah.[13]

Smaww business in Bursa, Turkey. One of de cwaimed advantages of smaww business owners is de abiwity to serve market niches not served by mass production industries. Consider how few major corporations wouwd be wiwwing to deaw de risks and uncertainty dat smaww antiqwe store deaws wif: buying and sewwing non-standardized items and making qwick assessments of de vawue of rare items.

Many smaww businesses can be started at a wow cost and on a part-time basis, whiwe a person continues a reguwar job wif an empwoyer or provides care for famiwy members in de home. In devewoping countries, many smaww businesses are sowe-proprietor operations such as sewwing produce at a market staww or preparing hot food to seww on de street, dat provide a smaww income. In de 2000s, a smaww business is awso weww suited to Internetmarketing; because, it can easiwy serve speciawized niches, someding dat wouwd have been more difficuwt prior to de Internet revowution which began in de wate 1990s. Internet marketing gives smaww businesses de abiwity to market wif smawwer budgets. Adapting to change is cruciaw in business and particuwarwy smaww business; not being tied to de bureaucratic inertia associated wif warge corporations, smaww businesses can respond to changing marketpwace demand more qwickwy. Smaww business proprietors tend to be in cwoser personaw contact wif deir customers and cwients dan warge corporations, as smaww business owners see deir customers in person each week.

One study showed dat smaww, wocaw businesses are better for a wocaw economy dan de introduction of new chain stores. By opening up new nationaw wevew chain stores, de profits of wocawwy owned businesses greatwy decrease and many businesses end up faiwing and having to cwose. This creates an exponentiaw effect. When one store cwoses, peopwe wose deir jobs, oder businesses wose business from de faiwed business, and so on, uh-hah-hah-hah. In many cases, warge firms dispwace just as many jobs as dey create.[14]

Independence is anoder advantage of owning a smaww business. A smaww business owner does not have to report to a supervisor or manager. In addition, many peopwe desire to make deir own decisions, take deir own risks, and reap de rewards of deir efforts. Smaww business owners possess de fwexibiwity and freedom to making deir own decisions widin de constraints imposed by economic and oder environmentaw factors.[15] However, entrepreneurs have to work for very wong hours and understand dat uwtimatewy deir customers are deir bosses.

Severaw organizations in de United States awso provide hewp for de smaww business sector, such as de Internaw Revenue Service's Smaww Business and Sewf-Empwoyed One-Stop Resource.[16] Smaww businesses (often carried out by famiwy members) adjust qwicker to de changing conditions; however, dey are cwosed to de absorption of new knowwedge and empwoying new wabor from outside.[17]

Smaww businesses often face a variety of probwems, some of which are rewated to deir size. A freqwent cause of bankruptcy is under capitawization. This is often a resuwt of poor pwanning rader dan economic conditions. It is a common "ruwe of dumb" dat de entrepreneur shouwd have access to a sum of money at weast eqwaw to de projected revenue for de first year of business in addition to his or her anticipated expenses. For exampwe, if de prospective owner dinks dat he or she wiww generate $100,000 in revenues in de first year wif $150,000 in start-up expenses, den he or she shouwd have not wess dan $250,000 avaiwabwe. Start-up expenses are often grosswy underestimated adding to de burden of de business. Faiwure to provide dis wevew of funding for de company couwd weave de owner wiabwe for aww of de company's debt shouwd he or she end up in bankruptcy court, under de deory of under capitawization.

In addition to ensuring dat de business has enough capitaw, de smaww business owner must awso be mindfuw of contribution margin (sawes minus variabwe costs). To break even, de business must be abwe to reach a wevew of sawes where de contribution margin eqwaws fixed costs. When dey first start out, many smaww business owners under price deir products to a point where even at deir maximum capacity, it wouwd be impossibwe to break even, uh-hah-hah-hah. Cost controws or price increases often resowve dis probwem.

Contracting fraud has been an ongoing probwem for smaww businesses in de United States. Smaww businesses are wegawwy obwigated to receive a fair portion (23 percent) of de totaw vawue of aww de government's prime contracts as mandated by de Smaww Business Act of 1953. Since 2002, a series of federaw investigations have found fraud, abuse, woophowes, and a wack of oversight in federaw smaww business contracting, which has wed to de diversion of biwwions of dowwars in smaww business contracts to warge corporations.

Anoder probwem for many smaww businesses is termed de 'Entrepreneuriaw Myf' or E-Myf. The mydic assumption is dat an expert in a given technicaw fiewd wiww awso be expert at running dat kind of business. Additionaw business management skiwws are needed to keep a business running smoodwy. Some of dis misunderstanding arises from de faiwure to distinguish between smaww business managers as entrepreneurs or capitawists. Whiwe nearwy aww owner-managers of smaww firms are obwiged to assume de rowe of capitawist, onwy a minority wiww act as entrepreneur.[20] The wine between an owner-manager and an entrepreneur can be defined by wheder or not deir business is growf oriented. In generaw, smaww business owners are primariwy focused on surviving rader dan growing; derefore, not experiencing de five stages of de corporate wife cycwe (birf, growf, maturity, revivaw, and decwine) wike an entrepreneur wouwd.[21]

Anoder probwem for many smaww businesses is de capacity of much warger businesses to infwuence or sometimes determine deir chances for success. Business networking and sociaw media has been used as a major toow by smaww businesses in de UK, but most of dem just use a "scatter-gun" approach in a desperate attempt to expwoit de market which is not dat successfuw.[22] Over hawf of smaww firms wack a business pwan, a toow dat is considered one of de most important factors for a venture's success. Business pwanning is associated wif improved growf prospects. Funders and investors usuawwy reqwire a business pwan, uh-hah-hah-hah. A pwan awso serves as a strategic pwanning document for owners and CEOs, which can be used as a "bibwe" for decision-making [23]

An internationaw trade survey indicated dat de British share of businesses which are exporting rose from 32% in 2012 to 39% in 2013. Awdough dis may seem positive, in reawity de growf is swow, as smaww business owners shy away from exporting due to actuaw and perceived barriers. Learning de basics of a foreign wanguage couwd be de sowution to open doors to new trade markets, it is a reawity dat not aww foreign business partners speak Engwish. China is stated to grow by 7.6% in 2013 and stiww sadwy 95% of business owners who want to export to China have no desire and no knowwedge to wearn deir wocaw wanguage.[24]

When smaww business faiws, de owner may fiwe for bankruptcy. In most cases, dis can be handwed drough a personaw bankruptcyfiwing.[citation needed] Corporations can fiwe bankruptcy, but if it is out of business and vawuabwe corporate assets are wikewy to be repossessed by secured creditors, dere is wittwe advantage to going to de expense of a corporate bankruptcy.[citation needed] Many states offer exemptions for smaww business assets so dey can continue to operate during and after personaw bankruptcy.[citation needed] However, corporate assets are normawwy not exempt; hence, it may be more difficuwt to continue operating an incorporated business if de owner fiwes bankruptcy.[citation needed] Researchers have examined smaww business faiwures in some depf, wif attempts to modew de predictabiwity of faiwure.[25][26]

Smaww businesses can encounter severaw probwems rewated to engaging in corporate sociaw responsibiwity, due to characteristics inherent in deir size. Owners of smaww businesses often participate heaviwy in de day-to-day operations of deir companies. This resuwts in a wack of time for de owner to coordinate sociawwy responsibwe efforts, such as supporting wocaw charities or not-for-profit activities.[27] Additionawwy, a smaww business owner's expertise often fawws outside de reawm of sociawwy responsibwe practices, which contributing to a wack of participation, uh-hah-hah-hah. Smaww businesses awso face a form of peer pressure from warger forces in deir respective industries, making it difficuwt to oppose and work against industry expectations.[27] Furdermore, smaww businesses undergo stress from sharehowder expectations. Because smaww businesses have more personaw rewationships wif deir patrons and wocaw sharehowders, dey must awso be prepared to widstand cwoser scrutiny if dey want to share in de benefits of committing to sociawwy responsibwe practices or not. [27]

Whiwe smaww businesses empwoy over hawf de workforce in de US [28] and have been estabwished as a main driving force behind job creation,[29] de qwawity of de jobs dese businesses create has been cawwed into qwestion, uh-hah-hah-hah. Smaww businesses generawwy empwoy individuaws from de Secondary wabour market. As a resuwt, in de U.S., wages are 49% higher for empwoyees of warge firms.[29] Additionawwy, many smaww businesses struggwe or are unabwe to provide empwoyees wif benefits dey wouwd be given at warger firms. Research from de U.S. Smaww Business Administration indicates dat empwoyees of warge firms are 17% more wikewy to receive benefits incwuding sawary, paid weave, paid howidays, bonuses, insurance, and retirement pwans.[30] Bof wower wages and fewer benefits combine to create a job turnover rate among U.S. smaww businesses dat is dree times higher dan warge firms.[29] Empwoyees of smaww businesses awso must adapt to de higher faiwure rate of smaww firms, which means dat dey are more wikewy to wose deir job due to de firm going under. In de U.S. 69% of smaww businesses wast at weast two years, but dis percentage drops to 51% for firms reaching five years in operation, uh-hah-hah-hah.[28] The U.S. Smaww Business Administration counts companies wif as much as $35.5 miwwion in sawes and 1,500 empwoyees as "smaww businesses", depending on de industry. Outside government, companies wif wess dan $7 miwwion in sawes and fewer dan five hundred empwoyees are widewy considered smaww businesses.

Cyber crime in de business worwd can be broken down into 4 main categories. They incwude woss of reputation and consumer confidence, cost of fixing de issue, woss of capitaw and assets, and wegaw difficuwties dat can come from dese probwems. Loss of reputation and consumer confidence can be impacted greatwy after one attack. Many smaww businesses wiww struggwe to gain confidence and trust in deir customers after being known for having probwems prior. Cost of fixing de cyber attack wouwd reqwire experts outside of deir fiewd to furder de investigation and find de probwem. Being down for a business means wosing money at de same time. This couwd hawt de onwine operations and mean de business couwd potentiawwy be down for a wong period of time. Loss of capitaw and assets ties weww in wif de cost of fixing de issue. During a cyber attack, a business may wose deir funds for dat business. Worst case scenario, a business may actuawwy wose aww deir working capitaw and funds. The wegaw difficuwties invowved wif cyber crime can become pricy and hurt de business itsewf for not having standard security measures and standards. Security not onwy for de business but more importantwy de customer shouwd be number one priority when deawing wif security protocow.[31]

The monetary dowwar damage caused by cyber crime in 2016 eqwawwed out to be over 1.33 biwwion dowwars in de United States awone. In 2016, Cawifornia awone had over 255 miwwion dowwars reported to de IC3. The average company dis year in de United States amounted to 17.36 miwwion dowwars in cyber crime attacks. Certain cyber attacks can vary on how wong it takes to sowve a probwem. It can take upwards to 69 days for an average everyday attack on a business. The types of attacks incwude viruses and mawware issues. Empwoyee activities widin de workspace can awso render a cyber attack. Empwoyees using mobiwe devices or remote work access off de job makes it easier for a cyber attack to occur.[32]

Awdough smaww businesses have cwose rewationships wif deir existing customers, finding new customers and reaching new markets is a major chawwenge for smaww business owners. Smaww businesses typicawwy find demsewves strapped for time to do marketing, as dey have to run de day-to-day aspects of de business. To create a continuaw stream of new business and find new cwients and customers, dey must work on marketing deir business continuouswy. Low sawes (resuwt of poor marketing) is one of de major reasons of smaww business faiwure. [33] Common marketing techniqwes for smaww business incwude business networking (e.g., attending Chamber of Commerce events or trade fairs), "word of mouf" promotion by existing customers, customer referraws, Yewwow pages directories, tewevision, radio, and outdoor ads (e.g., roadside biwwboards), print ads, and Internet marketing. TV ads can be qwite expensive, so dey are normawwy intended to create awareness of a product or service. Anoder means by which smaww businesses can advertise is drough de use of "deaw of de day" websites such as Groupon and Living Sociaw. These Internet deaws encourage customers to patronize smaww businesses.

Exampwe of keyword anawysis based on market competition, uh-hah-hah-hah.

Many smaww business owners find internet marketing more affordabwe. Googwe AdWords and Yahoo! Search Marketing are two popuwar options of getting smaww business products or services in front of motivated web searchers. Sociaw media has awso become an affordabwe route of marketing for smaww business. It is a fraction of de cost of traditionaw marketing and smaww businesses are abwe to do it demsewves or find smaww sociaw marketing agencies dat dey can hire out for a smaww fee. Statisticawwy, sociaw media marketing has a higher wead-to-cwose rate dan traditionaw media.[citation needed] Successfuw onwine smaww business marketers are awso adept at utiwizing de most rewevant keywords in deir website content. Advertising on niche websites dat are freqwented by potentiaw customers can awso be effective, but wif de wong taiw of de Internet, it can be time intensive to advertise on enough websites to garner an effective reach.

Creating a business website has become increasingwy affordabwe wif many do-it-yoursewf programs now avaiwabwe for beginners. A website can provide significant marketing exposure for smaww businesses when marketed drough de Internet and oder channews. Some popuwar services are WordPress, JoomwaSqwarespace, Wix and EXAI . Sociaw media has proven to be very usefuw in gaining additionaw exposure for many smaww businesses. Many smaww business owners use Facebook and Twitter as a way to reach out to deir woyaw customers to give dem news about speciaws of de day or speciaw coupons, generate repeat business and reach out to new potentiaw cwients. The rewationaw nature of sociaw media, awong wif its immediacy and twenty-four-hour presence wend intimacy to de rewationships smaww businesses can have wif deir customers, whiwe making it more efficient for dem to communicate wif greater numbers. Facebook ads are awso a very cost-effective way for smaww businesses owners to reach a targeted audience wif a very specific message. In addition to de sociaw networking sites, bwogs have become a highwy effective way for smaww businesses to position demsewves as experts on issues dat are important to deir customers. This can be done wif a proprietary bwog and/or by using a back-wink strategy wherein de marketer comments on oder bwogs and weaves a wink to de smaww business' own website. Posting to a bwog about de company's business or service area reguwarwy can increase web traffic to a company website.

Marketing pwan

Market research – To produce a marketing pwan for smaww businesses, research needs to be done on simiwar businesses, which shouwd incwude desk research (done onwine or wif directories) and fiewd research. This gives an insight in de target group’s behavior and shopping patterns. Anawyzing de competitor’s marketing strategies makes it easier for smaww business to gain market share.

Marketing mix[34] – Marketing mix is a cruciaw factor for any business to be successfuw. Especiawwy for a smaww business, examining a competitor’s marketing mix can be very hewpfuw. An appropriate market mix, which uses different types of marketing, can hewp to boost sawes.

Product wife cycwe[35] – After de waunch of de business, cruciaw points of focus shouwd be de growf phase (adding customers, adding products or services, and/or expanding to new markets) and working towards de maturity phase. Once de business reaches maturity stage, an extension strategy shouwd be in pwace. Re-waunching is awso an option at dis stage. Pricing strategy shouwd be fwexibwe and based on de different stages of de product wife cycwe.

Promotion techniqwes – It is preferabwe to keep promotion expenses as wow as possibwe. ‘Word of mouf’, ‘emaiw marketing’, ‘print-ads’ in wocaw newspapers etc. can be effective.

Channews of distribution – Sewecting an effective channew of distribution may reduce de promotionaw expenses as weww as overaww expenses for a smaww business.

In de US, smaww businesses (fewer dan five hundred empwoyees) account for more dan hawf de non-farm, private GDP and around hawf de private sector empwoyment.[28] Regarding smaww business, de top job provider is dose wif fewer dan ten empwoyees, and dose wif ten or more but fewer dan twenty empwoyees comes in as de second, and dose wif twenty or more but fewer dan one hundred empwoyees comes in as de dird (interpowation of data from de fowwowing references).[36] The most recent data shows firms wif fewer dan twenty empwoyees account for swightwy more dan 18% of de empwoyment.[37]

According to "The Famiwy Business Review," "There are approximatewy seventeen miwwion sowe-proprietorship in de US. It can be argued dat a sowe-proprietorship (an unincorporated business owned by a singwe person) is a type of famiwy business" and "dere are twenty-two miwwion smaww businesses (fewer dan five hundred empwoyees) in de US and approximatewy 14,000 big businesses." Awso, it has been found dat smaww businesses created de newest jobs in communities, "In 1979, David Birch pubwished de first empiricaw evidence dat smaww firms (fewer dan 100 empwoyees) created de most new jobs", and Edmiston cwaimed dat "perhaps de greatest generator of interest in entrepreneurship and smaww business is de widewy hewd bewief dat smaww businesses in de United States create most new jobs. The evidence suggests dat smaww businesses indeed create a substantiaw majority of net new jobs in an average year." Locaw businesses provide competition to each oder and awso chawwenge corporate giants. Of de 5,369,068 empwoyer firms in 1995, 78.8 percent had fewer dan ten empwoyees, and 99.7 percent had fewer dan five hundred empwoyees.[38]

Some smaww businesses are furder financed drough credit card debt—usuawwy a poor choice, given dat de interest rate on credit cards is often severaw times de rate dat wouwd be paid on a wine of credit at a bank or a bankwoan. Recent research suggests dat de use of credit scores in smaww business wending by community banks is surprisingwy widespread. Moreover, de scores empwoyed tend to be de consumer credit scores of de smaww business owners rader dan de more encompassing smaww business credit scores dat incwude data on de firms as weww as on de owners.[39] Many owners seek a bank woan in de name of deir business; however, banks wiww usuawwy insist on a personaw guarantee by de business owner.

On October 2010, Awejandro Cremades and Tanya Prive founded de first eqwity crowdfunding pwatform[41] for smaww businesses in history as an awternative source of financing. The pwatform operates under de name of Rock The Post.[42]

Smaww businesses often join or come togeder to form organizations to advocate for deir causes or to achieve economies of scawe dat warger businesses benefit from, such as de opportunity to buy cheaper heawf insurance in buwk. These organizations incwude wocaw or regionaw groups such as Chambers of Commerce and independent business awwiances, as weww as nationaw or internationaw industry-specific organizations. Such groups often serve a duaw purpose, as business networks to provide marketing and connect members to potentiaw sawes weads and suppwiers, and awso as advocacy groups, bringing togeder many smaww businesses to provide a stronger voice in regionaw or nationaw powitics. In de case of independent business awwiances, promoting de vawue of wocawwy owned, independent business (not necessariwy smaww) drough pubwic education campaigns is integraw to deir work.

The wargest regionaw smaww business group in de United States is de Counciw of Smawwer Enterprises, wocated in Greater Cwevewand.[43] United Kingdom trade and Investment (www.ukti.gov.in) gives out research in different markets around de worwd, awso research in program pwanning and promotionaw activities to exporters. The BEXA (British Exporters Association) rowe is to connect new exporters to expert services, it can provide detaiws about regionaw export contacts, who couwd be made informawwy to discuss issues. Trade associations and aww major banks couwd often provide winks to internationaw groups in foreign markets, some couwd awso hewp set up joint venture, trade fairs etc.[44]

A number of youf organizations, incwuding 4-H, Junior Achievement, and Scouting have speciaw interactive programs and training to hewp young peopwe run deir own smaww business under aduwt supervision, uh-hah-hah-hah.[45]